Many Gods and One

One feature of diversity that is especially striking to outsiders is the multiplicity of Gods within Hindu tradition. There are those with a specific area of jurisdiction for which the word "god" with a small “g” might be appropriate, and there are those of such all-embracing supremacy that only the term "God" with a capital “G” will do. In any Hindu temple there are likely to be many divine images, or murtis, even though the central image may be of a particular God, a form of Shiva, or the Goddess , or Vishnu. In a temple of Shiva, for example, the central sanctum will contain a Shiva linga, a simple stone shaft, where offerings of flowers, sweets, grains, and water may be presented. Surrounding this central sanctum, however, there may be a dozen subsidiary shrines to various deities. To one side of Shiva might be the image of his son Ganesha, the elephant-headed god. On the other, there might be the image of another son, Murugan, also known as Skanda or Karttikeya. Elsewhere there might be shrines dedicated to Lord Rama, with his wife Sita at his side. There might be an image of the River Ganges, personified and bearing a brimming pot of sacred waters. There might be an image of Lord Krishna, playing the flute and attracting all who hear with its amorous melody.

Hinduism represents the diversity and plurality of the Divine. There are many Gods, and there are many names and forms of each God. But most worshippers would insist that this many-ness must be understood in relation to God’s oneness. The sages of old used the term Brahman to describe the Reality that transcends all personal names. Brahman is one, though the “names and forms” of this one are different. This one Reality—call it Brahman, the Divine, or the Real—can be perceived in and through an infinite number of names and forms. The Rig Veda affirms, “Reality is One. The sages speak of it in many ways.” This idea is sounded repeatedly throughout the whole history of Hinduism. Even today, as a young Hindu woman put it, describing the images at the Ganesha Temple in Nashville, Tennessee in the United States, “All these murtis are different representations of the one Supreme Being—each with its own personality and attributes.”